A Fall Day at Hanging Rock

Today is the first day it's felt like fall. Beautiful Carolina blue skies and 55-60 degrees. We took off to Hanging Rock State Park to hike up to the waterfalls. 

The kids liked collecting leaves and acorns. I ended up with a pocketful of their treasures before we were done. They pretended we were on an adventure and collected/looked for clues all along the way. We ended our day with lunch and a quick walk down to the lake. 

Awana Grand Prix

This year is probably Daryl's last year coordinating the Awana Grand Prix at Triad Baptist.  The kids are getting a little older so they are beginning to show an interest in having a car and seeing it race.  We gave the kids many options for their cars; Eden wanted a minion, Silas a "cut, cut corn," and Gabe a super fast race car.

The boys sat together to watch the races.  Unfortunately Eden was at home, sick, but I promised her I would take pictures and record the races.

The design winners were 1st place: Eden (Gabe received her trophy for her since she wasn't there), 2nd place: Silas, and 3rd place: Eli Lewis

 

The speed winners were 1st place: Maddox Nifong, 2nd place: Gabe, and 3rd place: DJ Thompson

 

Not a bad night for the Burnette family; we racked up!  Gabe told us that he didn't win a "trophy" but that he won the "Piston Cup."  Silas agreed and said that he too won the "P-Cup."

 

Eden was happy she won a trophy.

Gabriel is 4

Four Years Old

Height: 3 feet 8 inches 98th %tile
Weight: 46 pounds 96%tile

An interview with Gabe:

 

Favorite cartoon?  Jake and the Neverland Pirates

Favorite color?  Brown

Favorite toy?  Octonaut playset

Favorite fruit?  Bananas

Favorite game?  Chutes and Ladders with superheroes

Favorite snack?  Chocolate pudding with Redi Whip on top (and a squirt in the mouth)

Favorite movie?  Walle

Favorite holiday?  Christmas

Favorite outside toy?  Pirate ship water table

Favorite breakfast?  Eggs

Favorite cereal?  Fruity Pebbles

Favorite song?  Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Favorite animal?  Tiger

What do you want to be when you grow up?  "A cowboy in town and live next to Eden"

Who's your best friend?  Isaac

What is your favorite outfit to wear?  a shirt with a pirate being chased by an octopus

What do you sleep with at night?  Currently in his bed: white blanket, shark, Donald Duck, scout the singing dog, superman, Lambie, 2 monkeys, Mickey Mouse, and a dog.  Daddy tells him that he sleeps with a zoo.

 

Gabe is growing so much that it's hard to believe he's only four years old.  He has the best imagination and he is the sweetest big brother to Silas.  He is beginning to take an interest into super heroes and it is growing his imagination by leaps and bounds.  Gabe isn't particularly interested in learning school type things but he is a smart boy and picks up on new stuff, quickly.  Gabe continues to be the quietest of the three and he doesn't really want to play alone anymore.  He is a joy to our lives and we love him very much.



 

Eden's Early Birthday Present

Ever since Eden was born, I have been adamant that I would not force her to have her ears pierced.  I wanted to wait until she asked for it and until she was willing to take care of them.  She began asking this past fall but after I had to pin her down to get a flu shot she changed her mind and dropped it.  I'm not sure if Olivia changed her mind or if she forgot about the flu shot but right around Christmas she began asking again to get her ears pierced.  I took her by Claire's to look at earrings and to see where she would get it done.  She immediately fell in love with the Hello Kitty pair and after she found out that Olivia had a similar pair, she was set on it.

Eden did great sitting in the chair and she didn't mind that the employee cleaned and marked her ears but as soon as it was time to do it she freaked out.  I calmed her down (she still wanted to do it), set her on my lap, covered her eyes, held her head still and it was done in no time (he even had to pierce one ear at a time).  I couldn't believe she didn't cry during or afterwards.  The girls picked out new, matching earrings (courtesy of Mimi) and then we went out for ice cream.

I like Eden's new earrings but they make her seem a little bit more grown up.  It's hard to believe she will be four years old in no time.

A New Baby Sister

Kelsey Brynne Alexander was born on October 28th in Charlotte.  She is a full sibling to our children and was adopted by Derek and Debbie Alexander who go to our church.  God was completely in control of this situation coordinating the adoption by people we didn't know but who live so close.  We arranged a time to meet Kelsey and the kids were so excited.  

Silas, calls Eden "sissy" so we told him Kelsey is "little sissy."

To our surprise, Gabriel and Silas were more interested in Kelsey than Eden.  However, we took Eden's baby book with us so they could see how much the two girls looked alike so Eden was preoccupied with showing her book to the Alexanders.  

Sweet sisters

 Eden is on the left and Kelsey is on the right.